Most Americans Can't Afford to be Disabed

Retirement Protection and American Savings Patterns

50% of Americans said they “certainly would not” or “probably would not” be able to come up with $2,000 in the event of an unanticipated event, such as an unexpected medical bill.
The majority said they would have to rely on more than one method to come up with the emergency funds.

60% said they would dip into savings
34% said they would have to ask family and friends for help
29% said they would have to resort to credit cards, a home equity line of credit, reverse mortgage or unsecured loan
– Lusardi, Annamaria, Daniel Schneider, and Peter Tufano. “Financially Fragile Households: Evidence and Implications.” The National Bureau of Economic Research. Bulletin on Aging and Health, May 2011. Web. <http://www.nber.org/papers/w17072>.

In 2007, the median income of households that include any working-age people with disabilities in the U.S. was $38,400.
– U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007
Over 70% of working Americans do not have enough savings to meet short-term emergencies.
– National Investment Watch Survey, A.G. Edwards Inc., 2004
Over 50% of the workforce has no private pension coverage and a third have no retirement savings.
– Social Security Administration, Fact Sheet 2007
71% of American employees live from paycheck to paycheck.
– American Payroll Association, “Getting Paid in America” Survey, 2008
Only 40% of adult Americans have separate emergency savings funds.
– National survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and carried out by Opinion Research Corporation, February 2007
More than 35% of workers with 401(k) or IRA plans have not thought about or don’t know what would happen to their contributions if they were unable to earn an income for a period of time.
– Council for Disability Awareness, 2007 Disability Survey